Laminated card



March 20, 1951 BUTLER 2,545,804

LAMINATED CARD Filed June 7, 1948 INVENTOR. I, Po ZEM/a/ I v I BY H6. 4 mad/1W Patented Mar. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAMINATED CARD Roy E. Butler, San Francisco, Calif.

Application June 7, 1948, Serial No. 31,520

' 2 Claims. 1 This invention relates to a forge proof credit card or the like.

It is customary to provide credit cards, identification cards and the like with a plastic casing open at one or more ends, and to insert and remove the card as desired. This means of carrying a credit card or the like is, however, disadvantageous in that the card can be easily forged. Also, the card is likely to become separated from its casing, and to be lost, soiled or torn.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved means of carrying a credit card or the like.

It is another object of the invention to provide an article comprising a permanent casing and a credit card or the like sealed therein, and including means for signing the card to prevent forgery thereof.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claims.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in' which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view showing the assembly of parts used to produce the article of invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the plastic sheets or laminae used in producing an article of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the finished article of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to' Figs. 1 and 2, an assembly is provided comprising a lower mold section I, an upper mold section 2, a lower transparent, thermoplastic sheet or lamina 3, a similar upper transparent, thermoplastic sheet or lamina 4, and an intermediate lamina in the form of a card 5, such-as a credit card, bearing any suitable indicia l thereon and also having a signature space H (see Fig. 3). The card 5 is of smaller length and Width than the plastic laminae 3 and 4, and it is preferably centered with respect thereto. As shown more clearly in Fig. 2. the lower plastic lamina 3 is provided with a longitudinal slot l 2 for a purpose described hereinafter, and as shown in Fig. l, the lower mold section I is provided with a raised portion 12a complemental to the slot l2 such that, when the parts are assembled, the raised portion will lie within the slot. The plastic laminae 3 and 4 may be of any type desired, preferably transparent on both sides (though one side may be opaque) and preferably a thermoplastic material such as cellulose acetate, polystyrene or methyl methacrylate resins, cellulose acetate being preferred.

The parts thus described are assembled and are placed between upper and lower J'aws l3 and M of a press, the lower jaw [4 having a raised portion 15 complemental to the raised portion Im in the lower mold section. Heat and pressure are applied sufficient to bond together the contiguous edges of the plastic laminae as shown, for example, at I6 in Fig. 4. Any suitable means of applying heat and pressure may be used, but advantageously a press such as described in my co-pending application, Ser. No. 787,333, entitled Plastic Press, filed November 21, 1947, now Patent No. 2,521,282 dated September 5, 1950, is used.

A finished article such as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 results. This article comprises outer laminae 3 and 4 of transparent plastic material sealed together at their edges as at l6, and an inner lamina 5 comprising a credit card, identification card or the like having any suitable indicia l0 imprinted thereon, and an opening I2 in the lamina 3 overlying and providing access to the signature space H of the card. The legal holder of the card may thus inscribe his name on the signature space, thus preventing forgery. A further important feature of the product is that, as a result of the lamination, the plastic laminae 3 and 4 are bonded to the card 5 so tenaciously that, if the card is wetted, water affects only the exposed area at l2 and the drawage does not extend beyond such area. This is important in that the card 5 will usually be of paper or other fibrous material which is easily damaged by water.

The article thus produced provides several advantages. Thus, it is cheap and inexpensive to manufacture, is small and light of weight, is easy to carry. It is forge-proof when signed by the holder and prevents separation of the card and casing, hence prevents losing, soiling or damaging the card.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended cla ms.

Having thus described my invention, what I 3 claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. A credit or identification card or the like, comprising outer transparent thermoplastic layers and a card having indicia imprinted thereon disposed between said layers, one of said plastic layers having an opening formed therethrough exposing a portion of one of opposite surfaces of the card to provide a space for signature of the card, said outer plastic layers being bonded by heat and pressure to one another and to the entire opposed areas of opposite surfaces of said card so that in delaminating the assembly the card is necessarily mutilated.

2. A laminar article comprising an inner lamina bearing indicia and two thermoplastic outer laminae applied to opposite surfaces of said inner lamina, said laminae being permanently bonded together, one of said outer laminae having an opening formed therethrough exposing a portion of said inner lamina for signature thereof and being bonded to said inner lamina over an area surrounding said opening, and at least one of said outer alminae transmitting light for inspection of said indicia.

ROY E. BUTLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,071,226 Goodsell et a1. Aug. 26, 1913 1,592,711 Acklin July 13, 1926 1,956,527 De Groot Apr. 24, 1934 2,088,567 Ballou Aug. 3, 1937 2,297,285 Bledsoe Sept. 29, 1942 2,361,670 Whitehead Oct. 31, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,235 Great Britain Mar. 2, 1887 

